A man was arrested Friday in connection to flying a drone over a wildfire that ignited near Foresthill in late June.Eric Wamser, 57, was booked into Placer County Jail in Auburn for interfering with firefighting efforts, Cal Fire said.Authorities tracked down Wamser after he posted video from the drone on social media, Cal Fire spokesperson Daniel Berlant said.Wamser is suspected of flying a hobby drone over the Trailhead Fire to take photos and record videos. Cal Fire said when his drone was spotted over the wildfire, air support had to be grounded in order to avoid a crash – delaying the fire fight in the steep terrain.Cal Fire said a photo of the suspect will be released later Friday.“When a hobby drone flies in the path of our aircraft, we have no choice but to pull back our airtankers and helicopters until the drone is removed,” Cal Fire Fire Protect Deputy Director Chief Dave Teter said in a news release. “For hobby drone operators, it’s pretty simple: when you fly, we can’t! No hobby drones over fire zones.”The Trailhead Fire ignited on June 28 along the Middle Fork of the American River near Todd Valley. It grew to 5,600 acres and forced hundreds of residents in Placer and El Dorado counties to evacuate their homes for several days. As of Friday, the blaze was 98 percent contained.“The Trailhead Fire was burning in such a remote area that our aircraft were critical to stopping the fire,” Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit Chief George Morris III said in a news release. “Every minute we couldn’t fly our aircraft because of this drone, the fire was able to grow and do more damage.”Berlant said there have been dozens of similar drone incursions in fire areas over the past two years, but Wamser is the first person arrested by state fire investigators.Cal Fire wants to remind the public “to never fly drones near wildfires,” adding, “If You Fly, We Can't!”

FORESTHILL, Calif. (KCRA) —

A man was arrested Friday in connection to flying a drone over a wildfire that ignited near Foresthill in late June.

Eric Wamser, 57, was booked into Placer County Jail in Auburn for interfering with firefighting efforts, Cal Fire said.

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Authorities tracked down Wamser after he posted video from the drone on social media, Cal Fire spokesperson Daniel Berlant said.

Wamser is suspected of flying a hobby drone over the Trailhead Fire to take photos and record videos. Cal Fire said when his drone was spotted over the wildfire, air support had to be grounded in order to avoid a crash – delaying the fire fight in the steep terrain.

Cal Fire said a photo of the suspect will be released later Friday.

“When a hobby drone flies in the path of our aircraft, we have no choice but to pull back our airtankers and helicopters until the drone is removed,” Cal Fire Fire Protect Deputy Director Chief Dave Teter said in a news release. “For hobby drone operators, it’s pretty simple: when you fly, we can’t! No hobby drones over fire zones.”

The Trailhead Fire ignited on June 28 along the Middle Fork of the American River near Todd Valley. It grew to 5,600 acres and forced hundreds of residents in Placer and El Dorado counties to evacuate their homes for several days. As of Friday, the blaze was 98 percent contained.

“The Trailhead Fire was burning in such a remote area that our aircraft were critical to stopping the fire,” Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit Chief George Morris III said in a news release. “Every minute we couldn’t fly our aircraft because of this drone, the fire was able to grow and do more damage.”

Berlant said there have been dozens of similar drone incursions in fire areas over the past two years, but Wamser is the first person arrested by state fire investigators.

Cal Fire wants to remind the public “to never fly drones near wildfires,” adding, “If You Fly, We Can't!”